Poor Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone he invented in 1876 suddenly isn’t good enough. At least according to Apple, which announced in January that it is "reinventing the phone" with its iPhone, which ships June 29.
The iPhone combines three products: a mobile phone, an iPod music player and a PDA for retrieving e-mail and Web browsing. The device has a touch screen that Apple CEO Steve Jobs says is the "most revolutionary user interface since the mouse." He predicts that Apple will sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.
The iPhone isn’t the first technology product to generate a deafening amount of buzz before its availability in stores. Here’s our list of the most-hyped technology products of all time. Some thrived, others died, but all generated more than their fair share of ink.
Apple Macintosh
An unforgettable Super Bowl ad kicked off the marketing campaign for the original Apple Macintosh computer. Dubbed "1984," the ad featured a female runner in red shorts and a white tank top carrying a hammer, which she throws at a Big Brother-like image that was supposed to represent IBM. Two days later, the Macintosh went for sale and, like the "1984" ad, it was a big hit. Since its debut in January 1984, the Mac has gone through many design changes, but it has kept its rebel image. The Mac made two other appearances at the Super Bowl, with a 1985 "Lemmings" ad and a 1999 ad featuring HAL the talking computer.
Watch Apple’s 1984 ad on YouTube here
Watch Apple’s 1985 Lemmings ad on YouTube here
Watch Apple’s HAL ad on YouTube here
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